I've returned and I've come with another section to the story. I don't have a lot to do on Mondays, but I come into school anyway. I can write tests early and of course send off the next instalment to a story I'm writing. At the moment the school is holding my only access to the Internet. That should change once I figure out how to get my phone hooked up. Don't laugh, I've never done it before. Anyway, that's enough from my end of things and I'll stop babbling to save you the anguish of listening to it.
The disclaimer is the same as it's always been. I don't know them, and if any of them are gay I'm not aware of it. If you are too young, or it's illegal in your area to be reading this, I'd leave. If homosexual themes offend you I'd leave as well. Thanks.
If you want to let me know what you think of the story and I'd appreciate it if you did, you can send them to one of two e-mail addresses. Mist_dark@hotmail.com or Mist_dark@yahoo.ca I check both of them so a response is pretty likely.
Until next time, Rune
CHAPTER FOUR
"When are they supposed to get here?" Sheryl asked. She was lounged in Justin's lap. The blonde had his arms around her as they snuggled on the couch.
"Soon," Chris told her. He was glad that she wasn't as weak as she'd first appeared. On the night that they'd met her Chris had disliked her. He wasn't a big fan of people that collapsed at the first sign of trouble. Thankfully it had only been the initial shock of the situation that had gotten to Sheryl. Otherwise she was a strong willed and interesting individual.
"Did Rob say what their names were?" Justin asked from beneath Sheryl.
"Nope," Lance said. "Just that he'd found replacements and that we'd be meeting them today. He was remarkably vague about details. I hate it when he does that."
"You just don't like being left in the dark Lance," Josh replied smugly. "Now you know how it feels when you keep a secret from us because you can. You're very good at it, but I think this would be called irony."
Lance mockingly smiled at his band mate. "You, my friend, can be replaced."
"Of course I can," Josh smiled sweetly.
Lance rolled his eyes and looked like he was about to respond when the door to the lounge opened. Rob walked in followed by two men and a woman. Both Lance's and Chris' jaws dropped when they saw the first man that followed Rob.
It was Cody. He was wearing what he'd worn the last time they'd met, or something very similar. The only difference was that instead of a tee shirt he was wearing a black muscle shirt. Because his shoulders were exposed, the tattoos on his skin were visible. Four dark wavy lines formed what appeared to be wings on both shoulders. If he had any other tattoos they weren't visible. He was also wearing a silver medallion with some ornate design on it.
The other man was slightly shorter then Cody and was dressed almost identically. Except he wore a white long sleeved shirt open over his muscle shirt. He had dark brown hair that was cut fairly short. His complexion was tanned and showed off his light brown eyes.
The woman hadn't felt the need to break the trend of colour among the group. She was dressed in black jeans like the others and had a black tee shirt on. She wore a black leather jacket over it. Her hair was black, curly and fell to her mid-back. She wasn't particularly tall and appeared short among the other men. She couldn't be more then five feet, four inches.
Rob looked around the room to make sure that everyone was in the room. "I'll try to keep this brief. These are your new bodyguards." He pointed to Cody. "This is Cody, that's Sean and the woman is Deana."
"Not to suggest you guys aren't capable of your job," Joey said. "And this is going to sound like I'm suggesting that. But only three?"
"I've seen these guys in action," Rob said. "They're nothing short of amazing. One of the tests they do is a free-for-all paintball war. These guys got hit twice each." He paused for a moment. "There were three hundred other participants."
"Impressive," Lance whistled. "I propose that we continue this conversation over lunch. Any disagreements?" The blonde looked around the room to see if anyone objected. When no one did he continued. "How about that little diner place we went to the first day we got here?"
"Sounds like a good idea," Cody said. "It'd be nicer then just standing here while you guys fire questions at us."
Justin sighed deeply to get everyone's attention. "You're just taking all of the fun out of this." He and Sheryl got off the couch. "Coming Rob?"
"Love to, but I can't. Management and all. Somewhere along the way I signed a contract that said I couldn't have any fun." Rob slumped his shoulders in defeat. "I guess I'll just have to start reading that fine print more carefully."
"I've got to run too hon," Sheryl said. She gave Justin a quick kiss. "I'll give you a call later tonight."
"Okay then the rest of us have to figure out whose driving who," Josh said.
"My jeep can hold four of us," Lance said.
"My car can take four too," Sean said.
"I'll go with Sean, Cody and Deana," Chris volunteered. "That way the rest of you guys can go with Lance."
"Figures Chris would pick to go with the safest car," Lance said. He gave Chris a wink that no one else saw. "But let it be on your head if the rest of us get mugged while you are surrounding yourself with bodyguards."
"Don't worry Lance," Chris replied. "I'll be thinking of you while I'm all safe and snug in Sean's car."
The diner was almost completely empty when the eight of them arrived. They got a large table in the back corner and placed their orders quickly. Their waitress was an older woman and didn't seem to recognize them, or if she did, didn't say anything. Lance noticed that Chris had casually sat next to Cody. The blonde smiled to himself, as did most of the other members of the band. Lance had let them know that this was the same Cody that had saved their asses a few nights before. They all knew that Chris at least had a chance.
"How's the food here?" Sean asked. He had a fairly soft voice, but it carried if he wanted it to.
"Good," Josh said. "But it takes a while. I think they make everything from scratch."
"Not many places do that," Deana commented. The guys had known her less then an hour and they already realized she was a bubbly person. Not the type that was normally associated with her line of work.
"While we wait," Justin said. "We might as well get to know you guys better. How about a Q&A?"
"Bet it'll be a change of pace for you guys to be asking the questions," Cody said. "Fire away."
"Okay," Lance said. An evil glint flashed through his eye. "Cody, boxers or briefs?" The blonde watched in amusement as Chris choked on his water. "I'm sorry. We just get asked that question so often."
"Neither," Cody said without blushing. He grinned when the singers looked back at him in amazement. "You asked. I just answered the question."
"Before you ask," Deana said. "I don't wear boxers of briefs either."
"Boxers," Sean answered.
"I see," Joey said slowly. "Onto something slightly different, but still relating to clothing. What's with the doom and gloom colouring?"
"It makes us look more threatening," Deana said. "And I need all the help I can get. I couldn't look any less threatening if I wore an Easter bunny costume."
"That and it sort of goes with the territory. Almost all bodyguards wear black," Cody said. "They do everything but hand it out when you finish the course."
"So what do you guys do for fun?" Josh asked. "I assume following us around isn't always going to be the highlight of your day."
"Oh it has its advantages," Deana assured him. She flashed Cody a wicked smirk before continuing. "Don't ask. It's very complicated. We went to the academy together and we've got all sorts of inside jokes."
Cody rolled his eyes. "I'd help clear that up, but it's just to painful to go into. But I personally like long walks on the beach, watching movies on the couch, and swimming."
"They didn't ask for a personal Cody," Deana chided him.
"It's almost the same thing," Cody defended himself.
"Are they always like this?" Justin asked Sean.
"Usually," Sean said. "You'd swear they were married." He grunted as Deana kicked him under the table. He shot her a dirty look. "That hurt."
"It was supposed to," she smiled sweetly at him. "I enjoy running, hiking, most sports and pretty much anything that will keep me active. I hate sitting still for long periods of time."
"What about you Sean?" Joey asked.
"I'm the quiet one of the three of us. I like to read and I write short stories. I also like to go for walks. Nothing really interesting."
"Don't listen to that," Cody said. "His stories are good. He just doesn't like to admit it."
Sean blushed. "They're alright, but nothing great. Just something I like doing."
Sean's discomfort was relieved when the waitress arrived with their meals. She positioned them in front of the appropriate person flawlessly. She asked them if they need anything else and then left. The group of them decided unconsciously that she was going to receive a large tip for her service. The group ate in silence and it wasn't until the end of the meal that they said anything.
"Wow," Cody said. "You were right, this was good."
"Told you," Josh said. He'd been enjoying the sidelong glances that Chris had kept giving Cody. He made a mental note to mention it to the others later on.
Deana and Sean flagged down the waitress and asked her which way the washrooms were. The woman told them they were around the corner and down the stairs. They excused themselves and head off in the direction she'd indicated.
While they were gone three men came into the diner and took a table near the front windows. They looked over to where the guys and Cody were sitting a few times before one of them left the table and walked back to them. He was an older man and didn't look like he was an overly nice person.
"You that faggot band?" He asked. His breath carried some alcohol on it, but not a lot.
"Pardon?" Chris asked.
"You heard me," he sneered. "You that bunch of faggots?"
"Sir would you please leave us alone?" Cody asked politely. He looked like he was starting to get angry.
"What are you going to do to me if I don't?" The man snapped. He opened his jean jacket to the table. A gun was tucked into the top of his jeans. "Now answer my question."
Chris had gone from being slightly worried to scared. He wasn't going to break down, but he didn't like being next to this man. He saw Lance's eyes widen and followed his gaze to the front of the restaurant. The other two men had gone up to the counter and pulled guns on the waitress. The woman was shaking to the point of she dropped the tray of glasses she'd been carrying. The sound echoed through the restaurant and alerted the rest of the people to what was going on.
"Just keep quiet," the man at their table said. "And no one gets hurt."
Deana and Sean chose that moment to return from the washrooms. They came around the corner and took stock of the situation that had unfolded while they'd been gone. Sean caught Cody's eye and nodded slightly. The brunette returned the nod.
"What are you doing?" The man snapped. He turned until he saw the other two bodyguards. "Don't even think about moving," he shouted at them.
The three bodyguards moved as if they were one person. Deana and Sean sprinted toward the two men at the counter. Cody smoothly stood up and punched the man standing at their table in the stomach. The bodyguard grabbed the back of his head and smashed the man's face into the table three times before throwing him to the ground. He pulled the man's gun out of his coat and levelled it at his chest.
"I wouldn't move," he advised.
Deana and Sean's movement had caught the attention of the other two men. They turned away from the counter and pointed their guns at the advancing bodyguards. The man on the left suddenly jerked his arm downward. The gun went off and he shot himself in his foot. The other man jumped at the sound and accidentally fired his gun as well. The bullet whipped by Deana's head and shattered a mirror on the wall. The broken glass fell on an empty booth. Neither of the two men had time to react again before they were relieved of their weapons.
Sean's hand chopped down on the injured man's wrist and forced the gun to clatter to the floor. He grabbed the man's arm and twisted while he kicked the gun out of reach. He calmly said something to the waitress and the woman picked up the phone and started dialling.
Deana became airborne as she launched herself off a chair. She slammed into the other man's chest and took him to the ground. His gun went skittering across the floor and under a booth. She straddled his chest and punched him twice. The petite woman got off him and looked around the diner.
"And to think," she laughed. "We aren't officially working until tomorrow. I wonder if we get paid for this."
The police arrived a few minutes later. They slapped handcuffs on the two men that weren't bleeding and put them in the back of their cruiser. The male officer called for an ambulance for the man that had been shot. His partner bandaged the man's foot as best she could with the restaurant's first aid kit. When the ambulance came they sent him to the hospital and gave the paramedics strict orders that he wasn't to leave the hospital until they got there.
The female officer started taking statements from the waitress and the other patrons while the male officer came back to where they were sitting.
"It would seem that you three are heroes," he said. "I'm officer Brock." He extended his hand and shook each of theirs. "I'd just like to know what happened here today."
"We don't really know," Lance said. "Deana and Sean went to the washroom and those three guys showed up. They took a seat near the front of the restaurant and then one of them came back here. He started threatening us and then flashed a gun. The other two had gone up to the waitress and pulled guns. That's when Sean and Deana came back. After that all hell broke loose. Cody took out the man closest to us and Deana and Sean took care of the other two."
Officer Brock wrote everything Lance said down. "At what point did the man get shot?"
"That's sort of the odd thing," Chris said. "The two men at the counter pointed their guns at Deana and Sean and then suddenly he shot himself in the foot."
"He shot himself?"
"Pretty much," Josh said. "His arm jerked downward and he pulled the trigger."
Officer Brock nodded at the three bodyguards. "You three seem well prepared for this sort of thing."
"We're bodyguards," Cody said. "We're trained to throw ourselves in front of bullets."
"Lucky you were here then," the officer told them. "This is probably an isolated robbery, but I'll still need numbers where I can reach you."
Lance pulled out his wallet and fished around in it for a minute. He smiled triumphantly and pulled out a business card. "You'll be able to get a hold of any of us through that number. Just leave a message and it'll get to us."
"Thanks," the officer said. "I probably won't need to contact you." He put the card in his pocket. "Thank you for your time."
The police finished their questioning and then left the restaurant. The cashier was visibly shaken, but was recovering herself. She came back to them with an apologetic look on her face.
"I'm sorry about that. Thank you for stepping in like you did." She obviously hadn't had this happen to her before. "The only way I can say thank you is to give you your meal on the house."
"Thank you," Deana said. "But to be perfectly honest we were only doing our jobs."
"Still," the woman said. "Thank you. She looked at the remains of their food. "Would you like any of that to go?"
"Yes please," Chris said.
"Not a problem." The waitress was starting to calm down now that she was getting into work she was familiar with. She gathered the plates of the people that indicated they wanted the rest of their meal to go. "I'll be right back with this."
Chris waited until she'd disappeared into the kitchen before pulling his wallet out. He pulled out a five-dollar bill and placed it on the table where it wouldn't be noticed until she cleared the table. "She deserves a tip for this guys. She had a gun pulled on her and she's still polite to the customer." The others nodded and put some cash on the table. When they were finished they had given their waitress close to forty dollars. "Now lets get to the front so she doesn't try to return this."
TBC
So what did you think? Did you like? Dislike? Hate? Let me know. The addresses are above.
Rune